Southwest’s Team Races for the Cure

By Southwest Student, Spanish Major Joy Heath and Assistant Professor of Languages and Literature Marjorie Dernaika

For the second year, Southwest students, support staff, alumni, faculty and, families all joined together for an incredible event: Susan G. Komen’s Race for the Cure on October 27. Our official team captain, Joy Heath, represented the students and the rest of the team as well. Our co-captains were Carol Tyler, from Mail and Packaging Services, and Margie Dernaika, assistant professor of Languages and Literature.

Even though getting up early on a cold Saturday morning is not on most people’s list of fun activities, once we arrived, it was totally worth it. The race was organized chaos, but it was so much fun. Our team of 46 people included first timers and old hands alike. Those who went to the race for the first time didn’t know what to expect, but were both pleasantly surprised and hooked on the event for life. The energy of the crowd of more than 12,000 people, most of them wearing pink, infused the team better than a double expresso! It was crazy to get everything together at-the-last minute, but so rewarding to have faculty, students, staff, alumni, and their families all working together.

It's wonderful that the City of Germantown and the Susan G. Komen Foundation work so hard to make such a great cause enjoyable and appealing to the masses. Along the route, yards and homes are decorated for the day — with pink flowing out of every nook and cranny. Pink jack-o-lanterns, pink wigged Elvis impersonators, and pink witches are just a few examples of the beautiful and festive items that racers encountered.

However, even after the race, the excitement continues. As of November 7, Southwest’s team was in first place for both largest team and donations for the college division. Fundraising continues until November 30, so we hope to stay on top! We know the college recognizes the importance of this event and will work toward its sustainability and future.

Visit our team page at http://memphis.info-komen.org/site/TR?team_id=224548&pg=team&fr_id=2671&et=Bz1ZH1BgatdDs0DPGFvDAA&s_tafId=101037.

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